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Biobased resources

A major goal of the bioeconomy is to use larger quantities of biobased raw materials to produce energy, transport fuels and feedstock for industrial processes. This requires detailed analyses, simulations, concepts and processes. Major focus needs to be placed on issues relating to crop production, biomass potentials, land surface requirements, conversion technologies, biobased value creation networks and food security. Agriculture, forestry, waste management and the industry in general will need to work in concert as far as the raw materials all of them use or deal with are concerned.

Innovative technologies and bacteria can transform wood residues into sustainable bioplastic packaging. Before bioplastics are broken down into CO2 and water in an environmentally friendly way, they can thus lead lives as products in the cosmetics industry, for example.

NovoCarbo GmbH produces biochar from plant residues such as wood chips, nutshells and manure. Different feedstocks, and the way these materials are processed, create biochars with different properties. This makes biochar suitable for different uses, including as a soil conditioner, in biogas plants or as bedding for stables and cowsheds. The Rhizo-Linse project is currently investigating whether biochar is also suitable as inoculant carrier for…

Given the challenges faced by modern agriculture, it is vital to raise people’s awareness of how to change their approach to food. The founders of the Stuttgart-based start-up company farmee GmbH see urban agriculture as the key to making this change possible. The company has developed “alphabeet”, an app designed to encourage consumers to produce their own food. After all, only those combining knowledge and practical experience can be expected…

Sensor networks are one of the keys to achieving digitalisation of the bioeconomy. Sensor networks are on the way to becoming important analysis and control instruments for energy-efficient and sustainable material cycles. Dieter Hertweck, Professor of Business Information Systems at Reutlingen University of Applied Sciences, shows what is already possible in digital agriculture and waste recycling and what is feasible for the future.

Lentils were once considered poor man’s food, but in Germany demand for them has never been greater. And to satisfy this growing demand, more lentils need to be cultivated. This is why the University of Hohenheim is involved in the EIP-AGRI "Rhizo-Linse" project. The aim of the project is to find rhizobia strains that go well with lentil plants to increase yield and improve quality.

While a good third of the electricity in Germany now comes from renewable energy sources, the production and supply of heat from renewables has stagnated at around 11.5 percent. Energy from biomass, mainly wood and biogas, accounts for over 80 percent of the renewable energy produced. Bioenergy municipalities show how locally available, renewable raw materials and solar power can be intelligently combined for supplying energy.

Dr. Andreas Lemmer has been involved in the generation of energy from biomass for over 20 years. His employer, the State Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy, runs the biogas pilot facility at Unterer Lindenhof near Reutlingen. Scientists here work under practical conditions testing new techniques.

Decentralised, controllable and stable - renewable energy is an important component in the transition to a bioeconomy without fossil fuels. BIOPRO spoke to PD Dr. Andreas Lemmer from the State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy at the University of Hohenheim and Prof. Dr. Stefan Pelz, scientific director of the Institute for Applied Research and professorat the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg.